The Sprout
Botley families at the Bike Ride for Climate Action
The newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley
Issue 141 October 2019
1
The Sprout
Issue 141, October 2019
Contents
3 Botley Arts
5 Apple Day
7 Memory Club
11 Model House
15 Planning Apps
17 Tattoos
10 Brownies Chase a Badge
Well-being for us all
23 Well and truly SCAMMED
27 Scouts on the River
29 Changes at the Practice
33 Parking Blues
35 Botley in Russian
37 WI Summer Festival
39 ABC meeting
41 Randoms
Local organizations
From the Editor
Lots of interest in this month’s Sprout, starting with Dick Wolff’s blow-by-
blow account of how he modified his new house in Tilbury Lane to make
it a net exporter of electricity to the grid (p11), and a cautionary tale of a
scam that very nearly succeeded (p23) read and learn, you wouldn’t
want this to happen to you! The illegal parking in North Hinksey Lane is
getting so outrageous it inspired a satirical poem (p33) and on page 17
you will find the stories behind one man’s tattoos. The Patients
Participation Group of the local medical practice is soldiering on under
difficult circumstances (p29), there’s a new club for people with dementia
(p7) and a map of Botley in Russian, relic of the Cold War (p35). Our
cover shows Botley’s presence at the Family Bike Ride for Climate Action
on 20th September, and page 39 has an account of the meeting of the
Association for Botley Communities, pledged to do all it can to protect
the environment and avert a climate catastrophe. If all this seems a bit
much, turn to page 19 for some advice on ways to maintain health and
happiness despite the challenging times we live in. Or you can restore
calm by remembering the Scouts and Brownies are still doing what they
love, the Women’s Institute in Botley is celebrating 100 years, and Apple
Day’s coming up on 6th October.
Ag MacKeith
2
Local art exhibition
Summer’s over, but we at Botley Arts are delighted to welcome back
Gordon Stokes whose gorgeous and inspiring photographs remind us of
sunny days. The exhibition can be found in St Peter and St Paul's
Church, West Way, daylight hours, from Monday 30th September until
the end of November. Not to be missed! Here’s what he says about his
work:
The Far West – the sea in west Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
These photographs show the variety of moods and colours of the sea
around the Isles of Scilly and the far west of Cornwall. Cornwall has big
beaches, big breakers and keen surfers. Scilly attracts those who love
peace, quiet and tranquillity.
West Cornwall, especially St Ives, is famed for the quality of its light and
has attracted artists for 100 years. The special light is largely due to
being at the end of the long South West peninsula, surrounded by sea,
but with damp air that deflects light, making shadows less harsh. The
Isles of Scilly also have a special quality of light. It's influenced by the
remoteness of the islands allowing so much light to be reflected by the
sea, the clarity of the water, and the white sand and seaweed that
reflect light back up again from the shallow sea beds. While Scilly is
way out into the Atlantic Ocean, the outer rocks and islands shelter the
sea between the islands and the water often has an almost treacly look
– at other times glittering – it is seldom grey!
I visit West Cornwall regularly and I've loved the Isles of Scilly since I
first went there in the 1980s, especially the smaller islands of Bryher,
Tresco, St Martins and Samson. The photos concentrate on the water
and the sky, but they wouldn't be the same without the white beaches,
the soft grassy dunes, the rugged saw-tooth islands and rocks.
My photography is often minimalist, simple in terms of composition, and
my influences are from abstracted painting and printmaking rather than
conventional photography. The aim is to please and uplift rather than to
challenge. I hope that they convey a sense of the places they were
taken and how precious the natural environment is for the world and
for our spirit.
I started printing photographs aged 13, and have used monochrome,
3
colour print and slide film. All is now digital and is mainly seascapes
from the Scilly Isles, Cornwall, the Outer Hebrides and elsewhere,
combined with landscapes of Oxfordshire.
I have exhibited in various places including the Hexagon in Reading,
West Ox Arts in Bampton, and more locally at the John Radcliffe,
Churchill and Warneford Hospitals. For the last 30 years I have lived
and worked in the Oxford area, but love nothing better than to escape to
the quiet coasts and beaches of the far West. My photography has been
combined with a career in research, including working for the
Countryside Agency. A geographer by training, I also am a Visiting
Research Associate in the University of Oxford. I regularly take part in
Artweeks at the Edith Road Studios off Abingdon Road in Oxford.
My work can be seen on www.gordonstokes.co.uk
Gordon Stokes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOTLEY APPLE DAY
South View House
Old Botley OX2 0JR
SUNDAY 6TH OCTOBER
2.30 pm – 5pm
Are apples going to waste in your garden? Bring and share
them at Botley Apple Day. People-powered apple press to
turn bruised apples and leftovers into juice. (Good ones
can be stored or shared) Apples identified. Apple recipes
and storage ideas. Bring knives, juice containers. No
apples? Just come anyway. Fun for all the family!
Phone 01865 724452 for details or just turn up
4
Memory Club
Kennington Memory Club has just celebrated its first anniversary. It
opened a year ago to meet the need for a local Dementia Day Care
Centre for people living in the area which includes Kennington and the
Hinkseys, Botley, Cumnor, Wootton, Marcham, Abingdon, Radley, and
surrounding villages.
With qualified and
experienced staff
and our team of
dedicated
volunteers, we aim
to provide a safe
and supportive
meeting place for
people with
dementia. Our
members have the
opportunity to
exchange memories
and opinions, take
part in a choice of
stimulating activities,
as well as enjoying the fellowship of shared meals. We give their
families respite and the offer of support, advice and comradeship.
Our activities include gentle exercises, reminiscence, musical bingo,
card games and lots of memory games. There is plenty of opportunity
for conversation with other members, staff and volunteers, and music
and singing are popular. A hot lunch is available for members at modest
extra cost. If they want to, carers can go to the carers' support groups
that take place every two months.
5
The club has had a very successful first year. As one of our volunteers
wrote in our newsletter, "The members certainly enjoy themselves and
there can be lots of laughter. They go home relaxed and cheerful and
the carers can seem positively reinvigorated by their few hours of
respite".
The club meets on Mondays and Thursdays from 9.30 to 3.30 in
Kennington Methodist Church, Upper Road, Kennington, Oxford, OX1
5LR. Members must have a diagnosis of dementia, and we welcome
enquiries by them or by carers on their behalf. For enquiries about
vacancies, membership and cost, please phone our Organiser Helen on
07852 883496. Or you can email us at kenningtonmc.info@gmail.com
Our website address is www.kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk.
And if you know someone who is living with dementia, or is caring for
someone with dementia, and you think that the club might be useful to
them, please tell them about us. We always need volunteers, so if you
think you might like to join us, please phone Helen. We can provide
safeguarding and dementia awareness training and arrange for
volunteers to have DBS checks.
Margaret Newton
6
Model home
When we bought a house on Tilbury Fields in June 2016 it was with the
deliberate intention of trying to create a net zero carbon house out of an
ordinary new-build. We’d factored in the cost of doing that when we
assessed what we could afford. We had chosen a south-facing plot,
and discovered as an added bonus that the garage roof was also south-
facing, enabling us to install 28 solar panels (8kW max).
The first challenge was to get Persimmon to build the house properly:
amongst its 15 building regulation failures it failed our independent air
tightness test spectacularly through sloppy construction, and because
an extractor fan was not connected to ducting in the hidden space
above the ground floor ceilings, that space was effectively open to
atmosphere. Insulation was completely missing over the porch space,
meaning the en-suite bathroom floor was more or less at outside
temperatures. So the first lesson is, “Don’t trust the Energy
Performance Certificate”. Under-floor heating was not offered as an
option, so we had to remove all the ground floor skirting boards, doors,
toilet and washbasin in order to install it. Likewise strip out the gas
central heating system in order to install an air source heat pump and
100 litre hot water tank. Had we been able to buy the property
‘unfinished’ (as it were) I estimate we could have saved £2,000 in labour
plus the cost of the unwanted gas heating system (about £4,000). The
whole process took six months much of that chasing Persimmon to
fulfil their responsibilities.
For some years, the government’s own energy advisors have been
recommending air source heat pumps as the default heating system for
all new builds, but government has largely ignored the advice. Heat
pumps are essentially air conditioners working in reverse. For every
kilowatt of electricity you put in to
drive the heat pump, you get three
kilowatts of heat out. The trick is
to store as much as possible of the
energy off the solar panels in the
hot water and underfloor heating
during the hours of daylight, and
then ‘cruise’ through the night.
The heating control system feels
unnecessarily complicated, but
7
once it’s set up properly, it’s done. We run the washing machine and
dishwasher in the middle of the day.
We’re delighted with the results. The house remains at a steady 21°C
through the winter. Between November and March in both years the
house has imported more energy than it has exported to the grid from
the solar panels in
December, nine times
more but for the
other seven months
we’re a net exporter.
In July 2018 we
exported eight times
what we imported.
The solar panels came
with smart metering,
enabling us to see at a
glance (on computer or
smartphone) what’s
going on, and keeping
records for us. Since
the system was
commissioned we’ve
exported nearly three
megawatt hours more
than we’ve imported,
so over a whole year
we’re better than ‘net
zero carbon’, and with
the Renewable Heat Incentive and (much reduced) Feed-in Tariff
payments we have a negative fuel bill.
Even if we had no solar panels at all, the efficiency of the heat pump
combined with the better-insulated house means we’re only using a
quarter of the energy of our previous gas-heated house; but arguably
we’d be saving almost 100% of the carbon emissions of our previous
gas-heated house, because we no longer burn gas, and the electricity
we do import (from Good Energy) is renewably generated.
8
What about the costs? Rising fuel prices, government abolition of the
Feed-in Tariff and dropping technology prices mean that our example is
only a ‘snapshot in time’, but solar panels, heat pump, u/f heating and
tank installation cost us just under £26,000 (including redoing
Persimmons’ work), and we’re on course to recoup that within 11 years
from the start. It’s only a small proportion of the house price, and the
inflated profits from developers like Persimmon suggest there’s no
reason why a system like ours couldn’t be standard on all new builds. If
the government mandated heat pumps on new-builds, land prices would
adjust to compensate, meaning it would cost house-buyers nothing
extra.
Dick Wolff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS
P19/V1887/HH
198 Westminster Way. Replace
conservatory with single storey
extension.
14 August
TDD: 9 Oct
P19/V1965/HH
14 Hutchcomb Rd. Single storey
extension, demolition of
conservatory.
15 August
TDD: 10 Oct
P19/V2057/HH
106D West Way. Single storey
flat roof extension and two
outbuildings, which have already
been erected.
27 August
TDD: 22 Oct
P19/V2157/FUL
Seacourt Tower, Homebase Ltd
West Way. External alterations,
new entrance lobby, variation to
service area and reconfiguration
of car parking areas.
4 September
Target
Decision Date:
30 October
P19/V2177/FUL
9A Eynsham Rd. Demolish
existing 2 storey detached
house & build 7 flats, 4 x 1
bedroom, 2 x 2 bed & 1 x 3 bed.
5 September
TDD: 31 Oct
P19/V2142/HH
34 Cedar Rd. Remove rear
porch & build single storey rear
extension.
10September
TDD: 5 Nov
9
Tattoos a personal matter
I have seven tattoos, none of which is purely decorative.
My first tattoo is my partner’s name, in her own handwriting, decorated with
a few stars. I gave the tattooist a paper copy of her signature and he copied
it onto a transfer, which in turn was pressed onto the skin of my upper arm,
leaving an image which he traced with his tattoo gun. It was a little
uncomfortable, no more than that. Why this tattoo? I found the idea of
being signed for very appealing. I enjoy the idea of being wanted and
enjoyed,
My next tattoos celebrate my parents. I have never met my father, and
communicated with him only twice before he died. I found I had two half-
brothers, and one of them sent me a rubber stamp which my father had
used to authenticate his architectural drawings. So my second tattoo, on
the other upper arm, was my dad’s stamp. Next to that, I put the third: my
mother’s signature, from one of the last postcards she sent me from
holiday. Her handwriting was unique, and I loved the sense of the tattoo
promoting her uniqueness.
My fourth tattoo is the number 42, ironically placed below my navel. 42 is
the number that Douglas Adams’s Deep Thought computer offered as the
Answer to the “question of the meaning of the universe and everything” (in
his “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy”). At the time I took it to mean that
the ultimate question was simply the question of species survival, and
therefore the rationale for procreation, but now I think that Adams meant
that the answer was “whatever you want,” which, increasingly, I think, may
well be true.
Next, I had the then logo of the NHS Blood and Transplant service tattooed
on the inside of my right wrist, intending to signal that I am a potential organ
donor. (Though medical professionals would ignore the tattoo and would
check for an entry on the NHS Organ Donation Register. But from 2020 in
England all adults will be deemed to be transplant donors unless they have
opted out.)
Recently I’ve felt the pressure of time running out, and to concentrate my
mind, I have had a mirror-image chest tattoo reading “Do it Now” which I
see in the bathroom mirror as I shave. Finally, the tattoo on my left foot is
the number 73. This is my target weight in kilograms. I am currently obese,
have diabetes type 2, sleep apnoea and high blood pressure. This tattoo is
part of a programme to extend my (relatively) healthy life. It was the most
painful tattoo of all. (Name with-held)
10
Brownies New Term
We started our new term (and new Brownie Year) welcoming five new
girls (Veronica, Lauren, Charlotte, Daria and Neve). To help us get to
know each other and to tie into this term’s badge we had a very
competitive game of Beetle Drive. Once the girls, and also all the
Leaders, got into the game the sound of squeals, encouragement and
laughter soon filled the room. The eventual
all-out winner was Faith and also our Young
Leader Fox so “Very Well Done” to the both
of them!
At the beginning of next month we have a
visit to Cumnor Hill House arranged to spend
the evening with the people there, and to get
to know them by playing some classic board
games together. Two different generations
will be enjoying spending some time together.
This term we are doing the “I’m a Survivor - Guide Me Out Of Here”
badge which is all about team-working with a jungle theme, and
includes crafts, activities and food. We will keep you all updated on as
we progress through it. The picture shows the badge we chose, about
7cm wide.
Alison Griffin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well-being for all of us: five principles
I was talking with Liam Corbally, who manages the Oxfordshire
Recovery College. The college is a ground-breaking project for
people with mental health issues, and their carers and friends.
Courses at the college are normally three hours long, and are co-
taught by an ‘expert by experience’ (someone who has had
mental health problems) and an ‘expert by training’. Courses
include Understanding Depression, Food and Wellbeing,
Introduction to Personality Disorders, and Wildlife and Wellbeing
which I teach. (See www.oxfordshire recoverycollege.org.uk.)
11
Anyway, Liam was telling me about the five principles of wellbeing
that apply to everyone, the mental equivalent of ‘five fruit and
vegetables a day’. The principles emerged from a government
project into mental capital which drew on the advice of over four
hundred experts from around the world:.www.gov.uk/ government/
publications/mental-capital-and-wellbeing-making-the-most-of-
ourselves-in-the-21st-century. Here is a direct quote from the
study and inspiration for all of us:
1. Connect With the people around you. With family, friends,
colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local
community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life, and
invest time in developing them. Building these connections will
support and enrich you every day.
2. Be active Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a
game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most
importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits
your level of mobility and fitness.
3. Take notice… Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark
on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the
moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking
to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are
feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate
what matters to you.
4. Keep learning… Try something new. Rediscover an old
interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility
at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook
your favourite food. Set a challenge you enjoy achieving. Learning
new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.
5. Give Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank
someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group.
Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, as
linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and
creates connections with the people around you.
Riki Therivel
12
Well and truly SCAMMED
Have you heard of the BT SCAM, in which gullible elderly persons are
cheated out of their savings by plausible rogues? Yes, I had too, but I
didn’t pay too much attention. I hardly expected it to happen to me.
And then, just as I was trying to get on with editing the October Sprout,
my internet died. The phone rang. I picked it up and was told it was BT’s
service team on hand to help reinstate my internet, which had gone
down because it was under siege from hackers.
What did they sound like? Patient, polite, fairly strong accents that
suggested BT had a well-rounded employment policy. For the next
hour, we strove to reconnect the broken internet. By the second hour, I
was on my knees with the tedium of it all, and grateful for their weary
patience. They asked questions about my spending that seemed
plausible: Did I do much buying on line? Did I use my phone for
telephone banking? Did I have more than one bank account? They
urged me to check my bank account to see if there was any unusual
activity on it, and reassured me that they couldn’t see what codes I used
to get in.
Patiently, skilfully, they reeled me in. I should have suspected their
sincerity when they complimented me
on my computer skills well, I did
suspect their sincerity, but I thought
they were just trying to jolly me along.
I should have smelt a rat when they
seemed to think my provider was
Virgin, when I had closed that
arrangement a month ago, but they
smoothly explained that BT provided
the services for all the internet.
Finally, when it was clear that the
internet was still working on my mobile
phone, they suggested I use it check
my bank account was safe. They told
me to place the phone by the house
hub while I went back to my computer
in the other room. That’s when they
took the vital information from my
13
phone, because when I went back it said there were two hackers
attached to my account, Mr G Ray and one other. ‘Who’s the other one,
I wonder,’ I said, cheerily, ‘Not you, is it?’ ‘Not at all,’ said the plausible
villain, ‘My name’s John Garcia.’ Then he put the phone down, and
peals of jingly music filled the air.
It took about ten seconds for light to dawn after two hours of patient
politeness, he’d hung up without saying good bye. Why not? I ran for
my bank card and dialled the emergency number on it with trembling
fingers. I got through to an assistant and told them I thought I’d been
scammed. They checked my account and found I’d just authorized a
payment of £6,000 to a Mr G Ray.
Luckily for me, I was in time to abort their evil plan! Both my cards were
stopped, the payment was refused, and I shall be changing my online
log-in as soon as my computer has been sanitized and the internet
restored. But oh dear, what a fool I was! I take such comfort as I can
from the fact that the two weary hours they spent working on me were
precious time down the drain for them as well as for me. It could have
been worse!
Ag MacKeith
14
4th Oxford Scouts on the river
This summer the 4th Oxford
Scouts spent four evenings
doing activities on the Thames
at King’s Lock near Wolvercote.
We paddled kayaks and open
canoes, and some scouts learnt
how to row and how to handle a
motorboat. The river is beautiful
on summer evenings, and warm
enough to spend lots of time
falling out of boats or jumping
into the river off a rope swing
tied to a tree. On a previous
evening the scouts had built a
boat/raft/aeroplane type thing
out of plastic bottles, a few
planks and lots of duct tape
from the pictures you can see it in all its beauty on dry land, and then
half submerged under the weight of six scouts.
James Wynne
15
Changing Times
Our medical practice is turning into a Primary Care Network
(PCN) as part of the NHS’s Long Term Plan. PCNs and Integrated
Care Providers are the new way for general practices and health
and social care services to collaborate. These collaborations are
intended to provide better ways for patients to access a wide
range of services. The PCNs will act as co-ordinators for these
services, making greater use of digital resources to do so.
Why are PCNs being set up? Limited funding, shortages of
practitioners especially GPs,. plus an aging population who are
living longer with often complex needs, have meant we must look
differently at making primary care work. The PCNs will expand
over the next ten years and it is hoped this will offer the
community in which they work better and more appropriate care.
In future patients may be referred to allied health professionals
rather than a GP, if this is more appropriate to their needs. This
doesn’t mean when patients are sick they will not get the care
they need.
The Botley/Kennington
practice has networked with
Faringdon White Horse
Practice, so it is now part of an
integrated care system across
three (BOB) counties: Berks,
Oxfordshire, and Bucks. As a
result patient engagement will
be changing.
The Oxfordshire Clinical
Commissioning Group
(OCCG) is also due to
change, in ways that are as
yet unclear. It has announced
it will stop supporting
16
the six PPG localities that make up Oxfordshire as from the end of
October. This decision has been made with very little notice to
PPGs and it closes the channel of direct communication with the
OCCG. It’s not clear, yet, how patients will have an input to the
practice they are registered with once this channel is closed. What
will this mean for the future of the Patient Participation Groups?
We don’t yet know.
Despite this, I and my colleagues have been busy over the
summer working on an Action Plan for Botley/Kennington based
on patient feedback and the findings of the March Care Quality
Commission. It is worth going on the website to review this, if you
haven’t done so already.
We plan to continue working with the practice to ensure that
patients still have a voice. Please support us.
Sylvia Buckingham, Chair Botley/Kennington PPG
17
Another Reason
Why I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House…
Billy Collins wrote a marvellous poem with the above title. It is about a
neighbour’s dog that will not stop barking. In the end he imagines the
dog playing in a Beethoven symphony, “his eyes fixed on the conductor
who is entreating him with his baton / while the other musicians listen in
respectful / silence to the famous barking dog solo, / that endless coda
that first established / Beethoven as an innovative genius”.
Driven to distraction by the unsafe parking on North Hinksey Lane,
which nobody seems to be doing anything about, I wrote this homage to
Billy Collins:
In the morning they start parking
On the edges of the lane
In the evening they return, and
Take their cars back home again
They park their cars so tightly packed
That they form a single chain
And turn our two-lane road into
A single-lane North Hinksey Lane
It’s as though a mystery warden
Was urging them to park right there
“Please park and park and park and park
And drive the local people spare”
We’ve rung the council, the police,
Put posts on traffic problem logs
Is it time to move near them
With barking barking barking dogs?
Riki Therivel
[Help is on the horizon, Riki. The County Council intends to put in
double yellow lines for the whole length of North Hinksey Lane over the
week starting 28th October – Editor]
18
Botley in Russian
Malcolm Graham, our local historian, has got in touch to show us the
Botley section of the Soviet era maps of Oxford and Oxfordshire that he
bought copies of years ago for the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies. They
had been discovered in a remote store when the Berlin Wall came down
and the USSR unravelled. The maps have now been digitised and can
be seen on Oxfordshire County Council's Picture Oxon website
www.pictureoxon.com The extract shown is from a 1:10000 scale
(roughly 6 inches to the mile) map of Oxford published in 1973. It’s hard
to reproduce the map very clearly in the Sprout format, but anyone
interested can find it in higher definition at Picture Oxon. The maps
have all the strategically important buildings picked out, such as the car
Factory and the University Press. University College is also picked out,
and it looks as if they thought this was the University's HQ! Names are
phonetically written in Russian script, like Botley below!
Picture Oxon now includes a huge number of local images, including
maps and plans as well as photographs, prints and drawings, and you
can also search for oral history recordings. A simple search for Botley
images comes up with 1970 images; for North Hinksey, there are 1533
and for Cumnor 1424. You can find it by googling Oxon History Centre.
Access is through oxfordshire.gov.uk, the County Council’s website.
19
100 Years of Botley Women’s Institute
Botley Women’s
Institute had it all on
Saturday afternoon
14th September. The
weather was as
perfect as it could be;
the tables in the WI
Hall were covered
with exhibits reflecting
the many and varied
talents and skills of
Botley WI members
and competition for
prizes was strong.
We enjoyed the
singing by Cumnor
Community Choir,
dancing from Cry
Havoc Morris Dancers
and a wonderful and
talented folk group
called Mother Folkers.
There were games for
children, and stalls in
the car park including
a stall with handmade
articles for sale in aid
of SERV, young
people from Branches
Youth Cafe helped
wash up and serve refreshments; profits from the day will go to them.
Everyone was able to sit in warm sunshine enjoying time with their
friends, family and visitors to the festival. Tea and wonderful cakes
were consumed by all present. It was a quintessentially English
afternoon. We can now look forward to the next 100 years!
Jenny Holloway, Secretary, Botley WI
20
Better for Botley, better for the Planet
About 20 people met up at the ABC (Association of Botley
Communities) Environment meeting on September 6th. We were
fortunate to be joined by Emily Smith our district councillor, now
leader of Vale council. Emily stressed that the Vale are upping their
game on the environment and are looking to develop a climate action
plan as well as acting on other environmental issues. They welcome
advice and examples of good practice. The meeting also discussed:
Botley Neighbourhood Plan Our proposed Neighbourhood Plan has set
some ambitious environmental goals but one has been challenged by
the government’s inspector (who looks at all neighbourhood plans). This
is that all new homes should be built to the highest environmental
standards. This seems an obvious requirement if the UK is to meet its
agreed ’zero carbon by 2050 goal’, but if it turns out we can’t have it,
then let’s hope the Vale will put it into the Local Plan. We must keep up
the pressure for change.
Air pollution is a major issue there are serious concerns about air
quality around our schools. The meeting heard the exciting news that a
large funding bid is going to Highways England (who are responsible for
the A34) to build a protective wall and perhaps a living ‘green wall’
between Botley Primary School and the A34. We considered how the
Vale’s new ‘anti-idling’ campaign could be used to to discourage ‘idling’
in traffic jams. There are also plans to develop a campaign to set
20mph as the maximum speed on local residential roads something
that has already happened in the city.
There was much discussion about what we can do to tackle climate
change locally. ABC will work with North Hinksey Parish Council’s new
Environment and Well-being committee, which has plans to produce a
leaflet for every household explaining why this matters and what we can
do (last month’s Sprout made a start). Support for our natural
environment is a critical part of this. Tree planting is one simple part of
tackling climate change and the new ‘Oxfordshire Trees for the Future’
campaign (www.oxtrees.uk) is encouraging councils, communities and
everyone to plant with the aim of doubling tree cover in 25 years across
the county. There are a number of street trees on Elms Rise. We need
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to work out whose responsibility it is to look after these.
It was agreed that we need an event to bring all these activities
together, and we support the plan from the parish council for a ‘Botley
Green Day’ to be held in early 2020. We’ll be needing people to make
this happen, so if you’d like to help organise a big day for Botley that will
bring together all the local initiatives to combat climate change, or if
you’ve got something to contribute, please email me, as chair of
NHPC’s Environment committee, chrischurch@cooptel.net
Chris Church
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Randoms
Botley W.I.
Speakers at our meeting on 1st October will be Liz Manson & Alison
Jenner on the subject of “Botley WI Remembered” The theme of the
month’s competition will be ‘WI Memorabilia’. On 9th October the
walking group will meet at the WI Hall at 10:00am for a trip to
Standlake. Craft group meets on 15th Oct, 2.30pm at the WI Hall. The
Book group on 23rd Oct at 7.30, Green fingers will meet on 31st Oct at
a location to be confirmed. The music group is discussing its choice of
concert. Do feel free to come along to the WI Hall and join us!
History and Holidays
During the summer, I managed a brief trip to the Isle of Wight. In a
cemetery in East Cowes I found the grave of Fred Goatley. At one time,
he was uncle/great uncle to quite a few people in Montagu Road in the
Clack, Jeffery and of course Goatley families. For those that want to
learn more about history, Cumnor & District History’ Society's 2019/20
season of talks start on Monday 30 September, 7.30pm at Cumnor Old
School . Everyone is welcome. Next year we also hope to put on an
exhibition on the history of education. Martin Harris
Eynsham Bike Path
Good news! Following their earlier withdrawal of the scheme from a
funding bid, Oxon County Council have now undertaken to help get the
Path funded and built. We at BikeSafe are hopeful that Andrew
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Gilligan’s appointment as transport adviser to the Prime Minister will
work positively for the B4044 path. It was specifically mentioned in his
report Running out of Road as being a necessary piece of
infrastructure. There is also huge pressure being applied by CyclingUK
for more money for walking and cycling infrastructure. BikeSafe now
meet once a month with the team of officers appointed by the OCC to
help the project get planning permission. Please keep your support
going that given this year has been quite exceptional and has
produced positive results in the face of adversity. Ian Leggett
Greening up Botley
Botley isn't the worst for green, but we could easily make it better. We
could improve shading and appearance, keep some of the cars from
parking on the pavement, and generally spruce things up. It would be a
small action we as a community could take to help the climate. The
Woodland Trust is offering free trees to groups with places to plant
them. If you’d like to pursue this as a community project, email me at
emma.burnett@linacre.oxon.org to discuss locations and timings,
subject ‘Botley Trees’. This is currently aimed at people who would plant
them on their own land, particularly on verges at the front of the house,
rather than community-owned land (though, of course, if the
Council wants in, we can get lots more trees...!). Emma Burnett
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Organizations: If your organization is not listed here, please send details
to editor@thesprout.org.uk or telephone 724452 for inclusion.
1st Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
Dean Court Community Centre Thur 6–7.30 Fiona Wheeler,
firstbotleybrownies@gmail.com
2nd Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
Rosary Room, Yarnells Hill. Tues 6:15-7:45 Alison
Griffin 2ndbotleybrownies@outlook.com
4th Oxford Scout Group
Beavers, Cub Scouts, Scouts
Scout Hall, Arnolds Way; mail@thefourth.org.uk
Website: http://www.thefourth.org.uk/
15th Oxford Scout Group
Boys and girls welcome
Fridays, cubs 6.30-8, scouts 8-9.30, Botley Baptist Hall.
Amy Cusden 07887 654386 xvoxfordscouts@yahoo.co.uk
Baby & Toddler Group Tues/Thurs 9.15–11, SS Peter & Paul Church Hall
Badminton Club
Thurs 7-8pm at Matthew Arnold Sports Hall. Garry Clark
0777 3559 314 garryclark13@gmail.com
Books on Wheels R.V.S. Free Library Service for housebound Ox. 248142
Botley Boys & Girls F.C.
Football teams from ages 8-16
Jason Barley Ox. 242926 jbarley1@sky.com or Brendan
Byrne 792531 brendan.byrne999@gmail.com
Botley Health Walks
Wednesday 9.30 a.m Contact: Briony 246497
Botley Library
01865 248142. Open till 7 on Friday and 1pm on Sat,
otherwise 9.30 to 5.30 (closed Wednesdays).
Botley Singers
Thur 7.30, St Andrew’s Church, Dean Court. Angela Astley-
Penny Ox.242189 angastpen@aol.com
Branches Café, Westway
Place, Open to All 8am-3pm,
Open for young people 3-5 daily, Th. eves 7–9 Tel:01865
251115 www.branchesyouth.uk Facebook Branches
Youth Cafe, Instagram @_branches_youth
Community Fridge
For all. Put food in, take food out. Ss P&P church, Mon–Sat
9–5, Sun 11–5. Riki Therivel 07759 135811
Cumnor Choral Society
Rehearsals Friday 7.45 to 9.45 pm John May 07795
054142 or www.cumnorchoralsociety.wordpress.com
Cumnor Chess Club
Thurs 7–9pm Cumnor Old School. Steven Bennett 862788
www.cumnorchessclub.co.uk
Cumnor & District Historical
Society
Last Monday of the month 7.30-9.00 Cumnor Old School.
01865 724808
Cumnor Gardening Club
Details on website at http://cumnorgardens.org.uk/ or
phone Chris Impey, 01865 721026
Harmony InSpires, Ladies'
Acappella Singing Group
Wed 7.30 at Appleton village hall. C. Casson 01235 831352
or harmonyinspires@hotmail.co.uk
Hill End Volunteer Team
Contact: David Millin on david.millin@hill-end.org, call
01865-863510 or visit www.hillend-oec.co.uk
Let’s Sing! – singing group Weds 2pm, WOCC, details Emily 07969 522368
or email emformusic@outlook.com
Morris Dancing – Cry Havoc
Barbara Brett 249599 or bag@cryhavoc.org.uk
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Mum and Baby Yoga for
babies from 6 wks to crawling
Mondays 10.30 at Dean Court CC, contact Jacqueline
Rice via https://yogawithjacqueline.co.uk
North Hinksey Preschool and
Childcare Clubs
Mon–Fri 7.45am –6.00 pm. 01865 794287 or email
nhps.manager1@gmail.com
N Hinksey Art Group Weds 10 – 12.00 W.I. Hall Tel: Christina 07931 707997
N Hinksey Bellringers Contact: Ray Rook 01865 241451
N Hinksey Conservation
Volunteers
Meets at weekends. Contact Voirrey Carr 07798743121
voirreyc@aol.com
N Hinksey, Friends of Annual Cricket Match & Walk. Douglas Bond 791213.
N Hinksey Parish Council Colin Ryde, tel 861992, clerk@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk
N Hinksey Youth Club
Wednesdays at Arnold's Way pavilion, call Daz on 07791
212866 or see Facebook
Over Sixties Lunch Club
Every other Thursday. Seacourt Hall. Viv Smith 01865
241539 or Jackie Warner 01865 721386
Oxford Flood Alliance R Thurston 01865 723663 or 07973 292035
Oxfd Flower Arranging Club 4th Thursday Cumnor. Dympna Walker: 01865 865259
Oxford Harmony Men's
Acappella singing group
Meets Wednesdays 7.45 pm at Seacourt Hall Contact
pro@oxfordharmony.co.uk
Oxford Otters
Swimming for people with disabilities. Sundays, twice
monthly. Contact: Alan Cusden 723420
Oxford Rugby Club
Boys and girls from 5, kevin.honner@ntlworld.com
Seniors, training etc jbrodley@chandlings.org.uk.
Oxford Sports Lawn Tennis
Club, N Hinksey
Family club: Melanie Riste 848658 or
melanie_riste@hotmail.com
Raleigh Park, Friends of raleighpark@raleighpark.org.uk
Saturdads
Botley Bridges
Fun activities and trips for Dads and under 5’s
10 am–noon 1st Sat of month. Tel: 243955
Seacourt Hall management
committee
Contact: Michael Cockman 07766 317691
michael.cockman@gmail.com.
Shotokan Karate club 6+ WOCC twice weekly Martyn King 07836 646450
Weight Watchers
Thursdays 6pm at SS Peter & Paul Church Hall Banso
tel: 07779 253899 bansob@aol.com
West Oxford Bowls Club Contact details on www.westoxfordbowlsclub.co.uk
West Oxford Taekwon Do
Club
Mon, Thurs 6.30-8pm, MA gym, contact Chris Hall 01865
570291 www.wotkd.co.uk
West Oxford U3A (Uni of the 3rd Age) http://westoxfordu3a.org.uk/
West Way Day Centre
Mon & Fri 10–3pm, Field House, 07740 611971.
oxfordshirehub@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk
Women’s Institute (Botley)
Liz Manson, 244175 email
liz.manson@virginmedia.com
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